You can save money and recycle some household waste products by making your own fire starters. This is a guide about homemade fire starters.
To use, cut one section from carton, light the cardboard portion, and you've got the perfect fire starter! Great gift for people in cold climates, for parents and grandparents who won't have to find a spot on their mantel to display this year's gift.
By Zoanne from Chugiak, AK
By Grandee from CA
I save dryer lint and stuff it into empty TP or paper towel rolls and use it to start a fire.
Save empty butter wrappers (I first use them to grease cake pans). Store in a bag in the freezer until needed.
Save paper towels that are used to clean up greasy pans or messes as above, store in a bag in the freezer until needed.
Junk mail
By April from NW, MO
I save our empty toilet and paper towel tubes, stuff them with waste paper and junk mail or even pine cones. Then I melt my small, leftover candle pieces in a old candle warmer just until it melts.By Jodi from Glen Burnie, MD
Source: 43 years of Girl Scout camping.
By Eileen from Elk Grove, CA
Put that stale bag of Fritos to good use. Start a campfire with them. They catch on fire very easily.
By Robyn
By coville123 from Brockville, Ontario
We also use a 'Briquette Maker' to make use of old newspapers. Have a look at Amazon for ideas. Make them in the sumer to dry out in conservatory or green house, a little labour intensive but quite relaxing with the tearing and soaking of the papers.
Source: Amazon
By Katieb from UK
"Fill an empty roll with dried leaves in the fall. Wrap it with newspaper, 4 inches longer than the roll, and twist the ends of the paper, for easy lighting. If you wrap them with decorative paper and put them in a basket they make a nice accessory to a fire place. They can also be covered with Christmas wrapping paper for the holidays. Contributed by Claycrazy."
By Racer
Save the lint from the dryer in a plastic container. In the winter months when the wood for the fire gets a little damp, use the lint under the kindling to get it started. Works great!
By korlund
This is a very inexpensive if not free quaint and useful Christmas gift. You see them in the gift stores for ridiculous prices, why not clean your yard and make lovely presents at the same time.
Gather up pinecones, all except the white pinecones that have pitch on them. Save the ends of used candles and remelt the wax in a foil pan (use as a double boiler). Dip the pinecone in the melted wax to coat it.
You may add fragrance oils, dried crushed herbs, and food color to create a sensory delight. Place the pinecones on a sheet of wax paper to dry within seconds.
Place an assortment of cones in a wicker basket or gift bag. Add bunches of dried tied bouquets of mint, cinnamon sticks, or lavender to give that extra few minutes of fragrance to the fire. People will love it and say how creative and talented you are...not that you are a cheap penny pitcher that makes rubbish look good.
By Live Again from Wiscasset, ME
By Linda
By ThriftyFun
By mousie
By Megan's mom
By Dede
By Wanda
Save lint from dryer, "cardboard" egg cartons (not the styrofoam ones) and old candle pieces or crayons. Put lint in each egg cup. Melt the candle pieces in an old coffee can. Pour melted wax into egg cups. Let dry, break apart and use to start your fires!
By Beejay from Whittier, CA
By Debbie
I've been saving old egg cartons with plans to show my grandchild how to make paper from it since what I have are recycled paper cartons for brown eggs.
You've given me the great idea of using the egg cartons for holding/storing the medium small pine cones we plan to dip in paraffin for outdoor fire starters in our firepit rather than to toss all of those things. I just LOVE to recycle, don't you? God bless you. Thanks, too. : ) (01/26/2007)
By Lynda
I'm always running low on extra money for gifts, and always watching for things found curbside or that are recyclable and free, especially at Holiday time:
I'm about to warm old candle wax and crayons swirled for exotic color, with cinnamon oil and vanilla added for fragrance. Then I will take the pine cones I find being left to weather beneath pine trees around the malls and forgotten, dip, swirl and sprinkle with glitter and add to a washed mesh grocery bags from fruit, veggies or turkeys. I'll place into old but good painted baskets or wooden containers and add single threads of thin red ribbon woven loosely all through the bundle and around ends, handles, or tops of what I finish with, along with a sprig of rosemary from the lawn care clippings at the same mall where it over-grows by a bank, with their permission of course.
I hope to find an attractive but frugal box of safety matches to tuck into it for their fireplace or outdoor firepit-burning of the lightly waxed scented cones. My notecards tucked in will be made from phone-directory homepressed spring flowers and leaves that say such things as "Hope this leaves you blooming with memories from your warmest holiday ever. Merry Christmas, dear hearts."
By Lynda from Richardson, TX
By Jean in GA
By lavenderdeer
Fire starters for camping are easy to make with things you have around the house. All you need is a paper egg carton, dryer lint and wax. I use old candle wax. Fill each section of the egg crate with dryer lint, then pour melted wax over each section.
After the wax hardens, pack for your next camping trip. When ready to start the fire, break off a piece of the egg carton and light it up. It lights easy and burns long enough to get the rest of the fire started.
By Leslie
By DEBRADJ.
By THATSKELLY
By Angelina
By Glenn'sMom
By 3-4-T
A basket of pine cone fire starters is a wonderful gift to make. It is fairly inexpensive and I have fun making them every year. Carefully melt paraffin or old candle ends in a double boiler and use tongs to dip your pine cones. I sprinkle some of them with glitter and leave some without then set each dipped cone on wax paper to dry.
I pick up very inexpensive baskets and containers at sales all year long. I also get candles at these sales for change, it does not matter if they have already been partially used. If you do not have a few baskets and containers on hand, save this tip for next year.
Source: A friend gave us a basket of fire starters many years ago and she shared with me how to do them. Enjoy.
By Bobbie G from Rockwall
My husband has made fire starters for our wood burning stove by taking saw dust and wax from old candles and adding them together in egg shell cartons. Then he broke them a part in individual parts.
I would like to know how to make a homemade fire log starter.
Instead of buying those fire starters, make your own out of empty wine boxes. I fill with little pieces of paper and poke holes in both sides, and light up!
Does anyone remember the directions for making homemade pine cone fire starters? I used to have one that made the fire burn different colors. Thanks in advance.
What happens to your shredded material at home or the office? I take them on camping trips! The paper shreds are a perfect fire starter.
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Homemade Fire Starters